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Check out the latest article on "Romantic Warriors – A Progressive Music Saga"

"In The Eyes And Ears Of The beholder, Art Comes To Life."

"Romantic Warriors – A Progressive Music Saga"

Directed and produced by Adele Schmidt and José Zegarra Holder

The sounds of music can trigger off many senses in our brains. It can make us smile, cry, remember forgotten moments, warm our hearts and touch our souls. It's one of the few unique connections to ourselves and everyone around us.



Adele Schmidt and José Zegarra Holder enlighten us with their documentary "Romantic Warriors - A Progressive Music Saga" which is about sharing an exhilarating connection with today's Progressive Rock Music. Their documentary takes us on a journey to the east coast of the United States, where music not only comes to life but it connects your soul. Today's progressive rock bands are inspired by the legendary sounds of Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Emerson lake and Pink Floyd. For many, watch how this documentary will make your reminisce and awaken your senses.



WMIFF Magazine had the chance to interview Adele Schmidt to find out more about "Romantic Warriors" and where she plans to take this film. Find out more about this film and how you can take your very own journey.

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WMIFF Magazine Interview with Director and Producer Adele Schmidt

WMIFF MAG - Can you tell us about "Romantic Warriors"? Where was it filmed?




Adele Schmidt - Romantic Warriors takes a close look at the modern progressive rock scene, specifically the 'festival' scene on the East Coast of the US. Focusing on the Orion Sound Studios concert series in Maryland, NEARfest (North East Art Rock Festival) and ROSFEST (Rites of Spring) both in Pennsylvania, and ProgDay in North Carolina, the documentary also takes a look at some of the band's who have played at these festivals in recent years. Live clips and interviews with progressive rock bands Cheer-Accident, D.F.A., Cabezas De Cera, Oblivion Sun, La Maschera Di Cera, Karmakanic, Qui, Deluge Grander, Phideux, Gentle Giant and Rob Martino are all featured, as well as many other important figures & record label folks in Progressive Rock. This film is about the passion and spirit of the progressive music genre, its music, its fans and the ecosystem that supports it. What challenges does progressive music face today? What keeps it alive, and why is it important? Here, you’ll find some answers.

Cabezas De Cera

WMIFF MAG - Who was involved in the making of this film?



Adele Schmidt - The producers and directors of the film are Adele Schmidt and José Zegarra Holder.




Adele Schmidt is an award winning documentary filmmaker. In the last 15 years she has produced and edited more than five long-format documentaries (all aired on national PBS). Adele’s productions have won numerous industry awards: The Telly Awards; the TIVA-DC Peer Award; the US International Film and Video Festival Award; the Christopher Award and the Gabriel Award. Adele is also a professional lecturer for film and video production at the School of Communication at American University in Washington DC.




José Zegarra Holder is the co-founder of the production company Zeitgeist Media. He is a progressive rock music blogger. His blog Autopoietican, about contemporary progressive music, has served a global Spanish speaking audience, particularly in the United States, Latin America, and Spain.

Adele Schmidt and Jose Zegarra Holder

WMIFF MAG - What were some of the biggest challenges that you faced making this film?



Adele Schmidt - The challenge of the film was to select bands that represent the different styles of progressive music of today in order to give the film a broader look of the variety of this music genre. We came up with a good band selection, where we were able to include a very diverse spectrum of progressive rock music in the film (Avant/Fusion, Avant/Experimental, Symphonic, Jazz Canterbury, Orchestral and Jazz Rock). Once we had identified and filmed the material, it took a while to give the film a comprehensive structure in order to find a way to tell the story in a way that an audience that does not know much about progressive rock would be able to engage with the film.





WMIFF MAG - What are the most memorable moments about making this film?

Adele Schmidt - Getting to know and working with highly talented musicians was a pleasure. Normally you don’t get so close to the artists. You see them perform onstage and that’s it. It was a privilege to interview the bands, asking them questions about their creative process, their influences and also talking about the challenges of doing progressive rock music today as most of the bands are operating in the underground. It was also encouraging getting to know the support system that stands behind the bands: The festivals, the organizers, the fans and also the independent record labels that distribute progressive music motivated by passion rather than any hope of substantial financial gain.





WMIFF MAG - What have you done with this film and where do you want it to go with it?



Adele Schmidt - We released the film at the progressive music festival NEARfest in Bethlehem, PA in the summer of 2010.



First: Our strategy was to get the media attention of our core audience: The progressive music world, so people could read the articles and get interested in the film. We have received very good reviews from print and online magazines coming from all over the world. You can find more then ten reviews of “Romantic Warriors” at our web site www.progdocs.com



Second: We started the DVD online sale through our website www.progdocs.com and were able to sell DVDs continually. The film is now also available on Amazon and some online music stores.



Third: At this point we are trying to get the attention from film festivals in order to expose the film and the music to a wider audience that might be interested in the music once they see the documentary. The goal is to make this music known beyond its actual limited reach that goes to progressive rock fans.



Next step: Get the film onto local PBS stations.





WMIFF MAG - What peaked your interest to get involved in film?



Adele Schmidt - Since I was a kid. I always had a love of reading novels. Storytelling was fascinating to me. I earned a Master Degree in German and Spanish literature and after that, I realized that I also wanted to tell stories. I always was attracted to film as well and found that filmmaking is a great way to tell stories visually, so I got a degree in filmmaking and started doing films.





WMIFF MAG - Why the interest in creating “Romantic Warriors”?



Adele Schmidt -When I was a teenager I listened to Pink Floyd, Genesis and ELP, however, I got disconnected from the music in the 80’s. Two years ago I was looking for a new film topic and Co-producer José Zegarra Holder invited me to the biggest and most important progressive rock festival on the US-East Coast in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, NEARfest. There, I was sitting in a concert hall packed with 1000 people listening to one extraordinary contemporary progressive rock band after the other for an entire weekend. At this moment I got reconnected to progressive music and I thought: “This music should be heard by much more people.” So, I decided to do a documentary about this.





WMIFF MAG - Are you working on any projects currently and/or do you have anything planned in the future?



Adele Schmidt - Yes, now that “Romantic Warriors” is released we are planning to stay in the genre of progressive music. We are planning to do a film about a specific style of progressive rock music “RIO” (Rock In Opposition) that dates back to the 60ies.





WMIFF MAG - What is the most rewarding aspect of making films?



Adele Schmidt - I think that one of the most rewarding aspects of documentary filmmaking is that you get immersed into a reality that you didn’t know before and you get to meet a lot of interesting people. When you start filming, you embark onto a journey of discovery. Once the film is finished, you share the story with an audience, who then watches the film and goes onto a journey as well.





WMIFF MAG - If someone were to ask you how to get starting in making films, what are the steps that you would recommend to do so?



Adele Schmidt - Listen to yourself. What is important to you? What do you want to talk about? Find your story. The story is sometimes closer then you think. Do the research, immerse yourself into that reality you want to explore, talk to people, travel, get the technical skills and start the journey.





WMIFF MAG - Can people buy copies of "Romantic Warriors"? If so where can they purchase it?



Adele Schmidt - You can buy the film from Amazon (TV/Movies) and our website http://www.progdocs.com





WMIFF MAG - Where can people find out more about you and your films?



Adele Schmidt - All reviews of the film are now at http://www.progdocs.com. If you want to know about us and our previous work please visit: http://www.zeitgeistmedia.tv and

http://www.american.edu/soc/faculty/aschmidt.cfm





WMIFF MAG - Do you have any last words that you want to share?



Adele Schmidt - I really wish for “Romantic Warriors” that it gets out there and that people connect to the music that is in the film. It’s fantastic music once you get really into it. Be a supporter of progressive rock music, listen to the music, go to the concerts, buy the music. Help that the musicians get the recognition they really deserve.



I also would like to thank all the people who have given support to the film. Without them, the making of the film would not have been possible.



“Romantic Warriors” is supported in part by funding from the Montgomery County government and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County.

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